2014 CHEVROLET TRAVERSE LS VIN 1GNKVFED1EJ285728

The Chevrolet Traverse LS described here left the factory in 2014. The engine is a 3.6-litre petrol unit with six cylinders. There is an automatic gearbox, with all-wheel drive. Every figure for this car is given as it appears in the source data.

The car was recorded with 155,234 miles on the clock. The instruments count in miles; the same distance in kilometres is about 1.6 times the figure. The number on the clock proves little by itself; earlier figures logged at services and inspections are what make it believable.

The record lists side damage as the main problem on this car. A damage entry is a starting point for the inspection, telling the mechanic where to look first.

When checked, the car could be started and driven under its own power. A key was present. A condition note describes the car at one moment; months of standing or later work on the car can change the picture in either direction.

A salvage title is on file for this car. A title of this kind usually means the car was written off as a total loss after damage. A branded title follows the car through every change of owner, so it remains part of its history.

A car’s history is everything logged against it since it left the factory: registrations and owners, inspections, repairs and insurance claims. The paperwork is kept by different bodies – registries, workshops, insurance companies and lenders – so the history of one car is spread across many places. From the outside, a car with a repaired accident and a car without one can look identical.

A cold start, the colour of the exhaust smoke and any oil leaks tell a mechanic a good deal about how an engine has been treated. On a petrol engine, a rough idle, misfires or a warning light on the dashboard need looking into. Automatic transmissions, CVTs included, are expensive to repair, so the test drive should include pulling away from a standstill and a stretch at motorway speed. Drive to all four wheels means more to maintain: differentials and couplings have oil of their own, which some manufacturers want changed at set intervals.

The ninth character of the VIN is a check digit calculated from the other sixteen, so a mistyped or invented number does not add up. The VIN on file for this car is 1GNKVFED1EJ285728.

Depending on what is on file, a VIN report may include past registrations, mileage readings, damage entries, branded titles and theft checks. A repair paid for in cash at a small workshop leaves no trace in any database, so no report can list it. A professional inspection makes sense whatever the paperwork shows, because no report measures corrosion, worn bushes or a poor repair. The next step is to look up the history behind VIN 1GNKVFED1EJ285728.